THE DADDY SEARCHSilhouette Desire by Shawna Delacorte reissued by Harlequin in ebook

G-EXCERPT #2 (first kiss):

Everything about him seemed so straightforward, something she found confusing. Nothing about him seemed to coincide with the type of men Marnie usually chose. Lexi’s casual conversation with Nick Clayton had done nothing to help clarify what had happened between him and her sister…if anything had actually happened.

She cleared her throat in an attempt to drive away her doubts. “I guess it’s my turn to be embarrassed. I certainly didn’t mean—”

He touched his fingertips to her lips to still her words. “That’s okay. No harm done.”

He continued to clasp her hand as they started walking again. She felt as if she were walking through a dream…with the man of her dreams. It was exciting and at the same time frightening. The warmth of his touch began to melt away her resistance. She hadn’t anticipated this type of personal involvement, and the emotional overtones were particularly unsettling. She didn’t welcome it, but neither did she seem able to turn her back and walk away. They finally arrived at her cabin.

Millions of stars sparkled like diamonds on a black velvet background, each point of light casting a spell on the moment. Nick didn’t know if it was simply the magic of the night or the exhilaration caused by the nearness of a beautiful and desirable woman, but he felt himself being drawn in by more than a physical attraction and a longing to make love to her. He also wanted to know her, to discover who she was under that unpredictable exterior. At times, she seemed everything a man could ever want, then suddenly she’d become distant as if she had just remembered who she was or why she was there.

“Well, here we are. Your home sweet home for the next three weeks.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s still early. Could I tempt you with a glass of wine before calling it a night?”

“I don’t think so.” She felt as if all the oxygen had suddenly been sucked from the air. His face was so close to hers, the faint illumination highlighting his handsome features. She tried to project a casual manner as if this was nothing more than a normal end to a normal day. “I have a sunrise breakfast ride in the morning and sunrise comes very early.”

“So it does.” His words were more like a caress against her cheek then simply conversation.

Her throat went dry. She literally forced out her words. “And I need to get some sleep if I’m going to—”

The rest of her words were lost along with her thoughts when Nick Clayton brushed his lips against hers, then drew her into his embrace as he captured her mouth fully with a delicious and sensually heated kiss. And like a moth drawn to a flame, she could not resist regardless of the risk involved.

Her mind went blank, devoid of everything excerpt the feel of his lips against hers, the way he had pulled her body tight against his, and the overwhelming need to have much more of this dangerous man than merely a kiss. She raised her arms until they encircled his neck.

Random thoughts tried to penetrate the sensual cloud fogging her brain. This man ruined her sister’s life…this bounder wouldn’t treat her any better than he had Marnie…this man was a forbidden treat glistening on the horizon, tempting, beckoning…this man was no good for her. But still she savored the excitement of his touch, the delicious truth of his kiss as he pulled her body tighter against his.

He reveled in her intoxicating taste and the feel of her body pressed along the length of his. She had the power to drive him to total distraction and she didn’t even seem to be aware of it. He knew he would not be satisfied until he intimately knew every inch of him. And if the burning need surging through her body was any indication, he would still want more. He finally broke off the kiss.

His voice came out as a husky whisper. “I have an excellent bottle of wine in my cabin and a private hot tub on my enclosed patio. Could I entice you to join me?”

His words sent a tremor of nervousness through her body. He had no idea how easy it would be to entice her. In fact, it took every bit of the determination she could muster just to keep from dragging him inside her cabin, shoving him down on her bed and ripping off his clothes. What was the matter with her? She’d never felt this way about any other man, and this was the wrong man to—she gulped in a steadying breath, then another, before she attempted to speak. She knew she needed to sound totally in control.

“It’s late.”

“Yes.” He leaned forward and brushed his mouth lightly against her kiss-swollen lips. “I guess it is.” He directed one last look of longing in her direction. “I’ll see you at sunrise.” With that, he turned and walked away.

When Lexi Parker first set foot onto Nick Clayton’s dude ranch, she had one goal in mind: to vacation undercover and find out if Nick really was the father of Lexi’s precious, now-motherless nephew. It seemed like a perfect plan…

Until Lexi herself succumbed to the cowboy’s devastating charms—and found out that this bighearted, honorable rancher was nothing like the love-’em-and-leave-’em rake her sister had portrayed. But if Lexi revealed her secret agenda to Nick now, would she lose her chance with the one man who’d ever stolen her heart?